Learning from the best to teach the youngest: Duvnjak's journey comes full circle at Paris 2024

Playing at his fourth Olympic Games edition, Domagoj Duvnjak is Croatia’s captain and leader. One does not need to look further than a moment on the court when the European side is on the defence.

Duvnjak is usually there, on the intermediary position or even in the centre, shouting instructions to his teammates, trying to set the team up for a steal or for a block, which would fuel a fast break, crucial for Croatia’s gameplan under Dagur Sigurdsson, the seventh coach Duvnjak plays under for the national team and the first foreign one in Croatia’s history.

The 36-year-old left back has seen coaches come and go, players come and go, but since 2006, he has always been there for Croatia. Under the guidance of greats like , Ivano Balić, Petar Metličić, Blaženko Lacković, Igor Vori or Denis Špoljarić, Duvnjak learnt the trade and the basics.

Now he is putting that knowledge to use and sharing everything in his arsenal to players like Dominik Kuzmanović and Ivan Martinović, who will be the future of the team in the next years.

“We came here with a very young team, and I have been trying to help them become better and better. I have been learning from the best, players like Balić, Metličić, Lacković or Špoljarić, so I have been there for the old Croatia team and I am here for the new Croatia team,” says Duvnjak.

“I have been trying to help both on the court, but mostly off the court, just to get this team get better and better and I think we are playing very good when we are motivated, like we were against Germany.”

Kuzmanović listed Duvnjak as his idol when asked about who inspired him to play handball, while Martinović, the top scorer of Croatia in the crucial win against Germany, 31:26, with nine goals, was awestruck when he finally got the chance to play alongside his idol.

“He is the best. He is the captain of the team, he is a fantastic character. He knows a lot. He is our leader. When I was in Austria, where I was born and started my career, I was watching him play and it was amazing. Now, to be here, at the Olympics, and be alongside him in the back line, wow, it is like a dream,” says Martinović.

Duvnjak has plenty of experience, as the Paris 2024 Olympic Games is not only his fourth Olympics edition, it is also his 21st major international competition, with Duvnjak featuring eight times at the IHF Men’s World Championship and nine times at the EHF EURO for Croatia.

He is also the most capped player in Croatia’s history, with 260 matches and the player with the largest number of goals, 782, having scored already 11 times at Paris 2024, where he played 97 of the 180 minutes where his team featured in the first three matches of the preliminary round.

At the Olympics, Duvnjak is slowly becoming one of the players with the largest number of appearances, as the win against Germany was his 23rd match. While not as fast as he was in the start of his career, for example at Beijing 2008, the left back has still been instrumental for his side, scoring five times against Germany, the country where he has been playing at club level since 2009, first at HSV Hamburg and then at THW Kiel.

“We all knew that this was a crucial match for us, especially after we lost against Slovenia. Therefore, we needed to win, we knew that, we were motivated and did everything we could to win against Germany. The plan worked good, we went very good in our 6-0 defence and stopped their attack, therefore everything is good,” says Duvnjak.

Indeed, the 31:26 win helped Croatia secure their second win at Paris 2024, after the 30:29 win against Japan and the European side are now on four points, edging closer to a quarter-finals berth, in what projects to be a very well-balanced group until the end.

With matches against Sweden and Spain following, there will be no time for Croatia to rest, with one match every two days in the South Paris Arena 6. But when asked what the future holds for Croatia, a visibly tired Duvnjak answered with a big smile.

“I cannot wait to go back to the Olympic Village and enjoy a coffee."